The purpose of the Bill is to:

•The Bill would seek to tackle the fundamental and longstanding problems facing Royal Mail. The Bill would enable an injection of private capital, along with other measures, to help Royal Mail and ensure the provision of the universal postal service.

The main benefits of the Bill would be:

•Safeguarding the future of the Royal Mail and the Post Office network.

•Giving employees a secure future and consumers and businesses a service they can continue to depend on.

The main elements of the Bill are:

•Enabling the disposal of shares in the Royal Mail to third parties that could raise equity for reinvestment in the business.

•Recognising the important social and economic role played by post offices in communities throughout the UK. Post Office Limited will therefore remain in public ownership.

•Measures to resolve the problems surrounding Royal Mail’s pension deficit.

•Potential changes to the regulatory framework for postal services.

•Exploring options for employee engagement at Royal Mail, to enable management and the workforce to work together to meet Royal Mail’s significant challenges and enable all to share in its future success.

Related documents:

•The Coalition: our programme for government http://www.hmg.gov.uk/programmeforgovernment

Existing legislation in this area is:

•Postal Services Act 2000

Devolution:

The Bill would apply to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Postal Services are a reserved area.